The False Promise of Overcorrection in Our Associations

We tend to overcorrect. When we see a problem, we not only correct it but overcorrect it. Instead of modifying our food choices slightly, we set rigid restrictions when we diet. And we do this in our professional lives too.

We notice deficiencies in our AMS, so we source a new AMS to fix those flaws, but instead of stopping there we want everything to be perfect. The list of must-haves grows. The project balloons. This phenomenon happens with any significant refresh whether it is improving the website, a conference, or another service. While we are making these changes we might as well make it exactly the way we want it, the thinking goes. And this is right, to a point. Eventually, we get to the point of diminishing returns when that extra effort and time takes us away from what is important which is understanding members, interacting with members, solving member problems and curating fantastic experiences.

By all means correct that thing that is detracting from member value or providing a poor member experience, just don’t spend a ton of extra time over correcting it.